In response to the rocket fire, the Israeli Air Force bombed 12 Hamas targets in Gaza.

Hamas warned Israel - with which it has fought three wars since 2008 - it would pay for the attack.

The escalation comes after the Hamas leadership convened for a rare meeting in Gaza on Friday.

The strikes came after two fighters from the military wing of Hamas, which rules Gaza, were killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday.

A senior member of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza, said talks mediated by the United Nations and Egypt on a deal to tamp down tensions were in "advanced stages". One Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this period.

Over the past four months, 158 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 in the protests near the fence and others in Israeli air strikes and other incidents elsewhere in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group.

The Swedish vessel, named "Freedom for Gaza", was intercepted on August 4th and taken to Israel's port Ashdod its organizers said - the second such boat of the "Freedom Flotilla" prevented from reaching Gaza.

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